Dear Ultrasound Insider,
Ultrasound offers considerable value in differentiating benign from malignant thyroid nodules, but that doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement. In three presentations at the 2009 RSNA meeting in Chicago, researchers discussed new methods that may improve the modality's diagnostic performance.
A French group found that an elastography technique was able to improve sensitivity for detecting malignant nodules, while Korean researchers showed that 3D ultrasound produced superior characterization of thyroid nodules. Another Korean team found that computer-assisted analysis of morphological and calcification features would add value in differentiating calcified nodules.
As an Ultrasound Insider subscriber, you have access to this Insider Exclusive before it's published for the rest of our AuntMinnie.com members. To learn more about thyroid ultrasound, click here.
In other recent news in your Ultrasound Digital Community, color Doppler ultrasound was found to predict the disease-free survival of breast cancer patients during neoadjuvant chemotherapy. For that article, click here.
And the use of Doppler ultrasound to monitor fetal health during high-risk pregnancies improves outcomes, according to a new meta-analysis from the Cochrane Collaboration of London.
In other articles, veteran readers of contrast-enhanced liver ultrasound studies were found to have better diagnostic performance than inexperienced radiologists, according to an Italian research team. Also, researchers from the University of Virginia are highlighting the promise of their new catheter ablation technique that combines intracardiac echocardiography and electroanatomic mapping.
In addition, a Spanish group found that ultrasound elastography can reliably differentiate between rapid or slow fibrosis in liver transplant patients.
Do you have an idea for a topic you'd like to see covered? As always, please feel free to drop me a line.
![Examples of ultrasound findings and techniques. (A) Images in a 39-year-old male patient with a mass in the left thigh. The mass is heterogeneous on the B-mode US image (compared with the patient in D) and showed increased microvascularity (superb microvascular imaging [SMI]) and shear-wave elastography (SWE) values. Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy (with pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma in surgical specimen). (B) Images in an 18-year-old male patient with a mass in the left leg. The mass is hypoechoic on the B-mode image, with no other findings suggestive of malignancy. The lesion is in contact with the cortex of the tibia, which is slightly irregular. CT revealed a doubtful anteromedial tibial erosion. The microvascular study demonstrated high vascularization, suggestive of malignancy. Periosteal Ewing sarcoma was diagnosed with both histologic and immunohistochemical confirmation. (C) Images in a 69-year-old female patient with a lump growing on the outside of the left leg. Multiple SWE examinations were performed (please note the high values obtained in the measurements, whereas the color map highlights the stiffness relative to adjacent tissues). SMI showed areas of increased vascularization to target for sampling. Undifferentiated spindle cell sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with residual leiomyosarcoma in the surgical specimen after neoadjuvant therapy. (D) Images in a 56-year-old female patient with a mass in the right thigh. The mass is heterogeneous at both B-mode ultrasound (similar to patient A) and MRI (coronal T2-weighted spectral attenuated inversion recovery [SPAIR]; T1-weighted pre-contrast and postcontrast imaging), which even shows uptake after the administration of paramagnetic contrast material, which is traditionally suggestive of malignancy. Low values at SMI and elastography are suggestive of benignity. Spindle cell lipoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with atypical spindle cell lipomatous tumor in the surgical specimen.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/08/images-radiol250278fig2.APCFLSvX6p.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)